Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to a fuel manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for converting flammable material, such as waxed cardboard, into compact artificial firelogs or firestarter chips.
2. Description of the Background Art
The popularity of log burning fireplaces as an amenity and as a supplemental source of heat continues to grow. With cutting restrictions on Government land, as well as the closing of many wood processing plants, wood logs can be difficult and expensive to obtain. As a result, artificial firelogs have been gaining in popularity.
Boxes and containers made from cardboard are widely used in an almost infinite variety of applications such as packaging, shipping and storage of goods and the like. As such, there is an abundant supply of discarded cardboard boxes readily available for recycling. It has been recognized that discarded cardboard boxes form a potential fuel material, and the general concept of converting used or discarded cardboard boxes into burnable firelogs has been applied with some level of success.
Machines have been developed to convert such cardboard boxes into compact burnable firelogs. Such machines include a feed system, such as a hammermill, for receiving a sheet of cardboard into the cutting system, a cutting mechanism for slicing the cardboard sheet into strips and then cutting the strips into chips and a compacting/compressing using a punch press assembly for shaping the chips into compact firelog structures which can be burned in a fireplace. Binders, such as glue, are used to hold the chips together after compression. Additionally, the finished firelogs can be dipped into wax for a outer wax coating to enhance their burn capability. These machines are, however, designed to cut and shape plain cardboard boxes, i.e. without a wax or like coating thereon.
There exists a problem relating to recycling certain types of cardboard boxes. Wax-coated corrugated cardboard boxes, which are commonly coated with a paraffin-based wax, are generally non-recyclable because, in normal re-pulping systems, the wax is very expensive to separate from the corrugated cardboard efficiently. Thus, used wax-coated corrugated cardboard boxes are usually discarded in landfills. In view of present interests regarding conservation of resources and environmental consciousness, the ability to reuse such discarded material in a form of fuel would serve to reduce the demand for other types of fuels, such as oil, gas or coal, thus further conserving natural resources and preserving the environment.
Additionally, these machines destroy the corrugation within the cardboard, preventing the flow and permeation of wax and oxygen through the firelog, resulting in an incomplete and inefficient burning of the firelog. Moreover, such machines produce firelogs having xe2x80x9ccold jointsxe2x80x9d at the intervals between punches or presses. Cold joint are weak links within the firelog that are easily separated when any shear or tensile force is exerted thereon, resulting in multiple sections of broken firelogs.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an artificial firelog manufacturing apparatus that provides the capability to recycle pre-waxed corrugated cardboard boxes into firelogs that are more structurally rigid and that burn more efficiently over that presently known in the art. The present invention satisfies those needs, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies found currently known artificial firelog producing machines.
The present invention is an apparatus which converts standard corrugated cardboard sheets into artificial firelogs or firestarter chips. The invention produces artificial firelogs or firestarter chips by first slicing cardboard sheets into cardboard strips, then cutting the cardboard strips into cardboard segments. The cardboard segments for the artificial firelogs are compressed and shaped into generally circular, longitudinally-shaped pieces resembling a firelog. The apparatus is even capable of processing pre-waxed cardboard into artificial firelogs and firestarter.
By way of example and not of limitation, the artificial firelog producing apparatus of the present invention generally comprises a plurality of upper circular blades juxtaposed axially, a plurality of lower circular blades juxtaposed axially such that the cutting edge of the upper circular blades overlap the cutting edge of the lower circular blades, a cutting reel disposed beneath the lower circular blade, a conveyor compression auger positioned adjacent the cutting reel and a log die. The upper and lower circular blades effectively slice a waxed cardboard sheet fed therein into waxed cardboard strips. The waxed cardboard strips are then fed through the cutting reel which cuts the cardboard strips into waxed cardboard segments. The waxed cardboard segments are fed into the conveyor compression auger for transport into a log die. While the conveyor compression auger transports the waxed cardboard segments, the segments are gradually compressed and forced into the log die. The log die shapes the waxed cardboard segments into artificial firelogs.
Use of a conveyor compression auger results in a significant improvement over punch press-type machines because the conveyor compression auger horizontally (based on the longitudinal axis of the firelog) flattens the waxed cardboard segments, as opposed to vertically flattening or crushing the cardboard segments. The result is a firelog that burns similar to genuine wood bark. The conveyor compression auger also eliminates cold joints in the firelog, eliminating the likelihood of the firelog breaking into segments on the grate.
An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus capable of processing pre-waxed cardboard to produce artificial firelogs.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus capable of producing artificial firelogs more efficiently than other firelog producing machines presently known or available.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus capable of reliably feeding, slicing and cutting waxed cardboard sheets and paper sheets into waxed cardboard segments and paper segments.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus capable of producing artificial firelogs without adding glue or wax.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus that produces firelogs without cold joints.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which uses a screw compression auger to transport and compress waxed cardboard segments into artificial firelogs.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is capable of producing firestarter chips.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is capable of producing firestarter blends of different materials.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus capable of producing a log having a outer covering which can be used as a post.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention without placing limitations thereon.